Windhoek, Namibia - A tribunal of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on Friday ordered the Zimbabwean government to halt the eviction of 73 farmers in the second such ruling by the regional court defending Zimbabwean farmers against land grabs. The court, which sits in the Namibian capital Windhoek, also granted the 73 farmers and four others that have already been evicted the right to have their cases heard in May together with the first Zimbabwean farmer to appeal to the court to overturn his eviction order.
The five-person tribunal ordered "that the Republic of Zimbabwe shall take no steps to evict from or interfere with peaceful residence and beneficial use" of the farms by the farmers pending the outcome of the mass hearing, set for May 28 in Windhoek.
"Although we are not satisfied with it, we will comply with it," Zimbabwe's deputy attorney general Prince Machaya told Deutsche Presse-Agentur
